I am contemplating purchasing the building where my S corporation
practice is located.  I can afford to pay it off in 5 years.  My
accountant tells me that I have to depreciate it over at least 20
years so the 5 year payoff is silly.  I have a friend who has done the
same type of purchase whose accountant has not saddled him with the
long writeoff.  I hope to be retired with in 10 years or so
and therefore would like to get my deductions sooner rather than
later.  Is there any way around the 20 year depreciation?

<It is possible to depreciate a building more quickly by separating
the components of  the building and depreciating them individually.
This method is often referred to as segregation. The purchase price of
a building can be divided up into its individual components of land,
structure, fixtures and site improvements. Many of the assets that are
associated with the building can be depreciated at a much faster rate
than the actual building itself. Assets like office fixtures, burglar
alarm systems, kitchen appliances, carpeting can be written off over
seven years. Site improvements like landscaping, fencing, drainage
systems and exterior lighting can be depreciated over 15 years.
Telecommunications equipment can be written off over 5 years.

By allocating the maximum possible value to the fast-depreciating
assets you can reduce your tax burden.

The criteria for deciding if an asset is personal property that can be
depreciated at a faster rate are determined as follows:
The asset can be moved.
It was not designed to remain in place indefinitely.
It is not solidly anchored to the underlying land.
The item is not needed to operate or maintain the building. 

Consulting a real estate appraiser will help you to value the
individual components.>


<Additional links:>

<Real Estate Analysis that Saves You Income Taxes by Joseph LaPray.>
<http://www.shenehon.com/Library/valuation_viewpoint/areal.htm>

<How to maximise depreciation deductions.>
<http://www.irishcpas.com/depreciation.htm>

<Clear and present savings by Kelly P. Toole.>
<http://www.beersandcutler.com/pdf/clear-present-savings.pdf>

<Tax write offs: The sum of the parts.>
<http://www.fitnessmanagement.com/info/info_pages/library/features/0702feature.html>

<Faster depreciation now possible for building owners.>
<http://www.bizmonthly.com/7_2000/mahajan.html>

<Search strategy:>
<depreciating buildings "tax savings">
<://www.google.com/search?as_q=depreciating+buildings&num=10&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=tax+savings&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images>

<Hope this helps.>